An inspirational, yet practical, blog written by Deborah Federico that provides career advice for college students and others. Following this blog will enable you to gain a competitive advantage in the job market and achieve your career goals.

Career Resources

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Your Resume Should be as Unique as a Snowflake

Right now we’re buried with snow here in Boston so I figured a snow analogy would be in order in this blog post. Just as no two snowflakes are alike out of the gazillions that have fallen in the Boston area over the last three weeks, no two resumes should ever be alike. That’s why any article entitled “The Top 10 Resume Tips” or the like should always be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. Unlike some products where “one size fits all,” there is no resume advice that fits everyone. Each person’s resume should be unique and targeted to their specific career field. That’s why the best resume advice is “it depends.”

Granted, there are definitely resume “do’s and don’ts” that should be adhered to in order to avoid having your resume placed in the “no” pile, but my concern is that some people, particularly college students just starting out in their career, may take resume advice too literally. For example, I read a resume advice article recently that said you should never put your GPA on your resume. While this may be true for someone in mid-career, it is certainly not true for college students since GPA is one of the top criteria employers use to assess students’ candidacy.

When I meet with students to discuss their resumes, they often ask me if a certain experience should go on their resume – things like a volunteer experience, a part-time job that seems irrelevant, or a student club activity. I always say “it depends.” I advise them to keep a master resume which includes everything on it (paid and non-paid work experiences, volunteer/community service, student club activities, leadership roles, etc.) and to extract from this master resume anything that is relevant to the job they’re applying to. Contrary to what they think, an experience doesn’t necessarily have to be paid in order to be relevant.

This point may be particularly important for those who are seeking to transition from one career to another. For example, I was recently working with an alumna who wanted to transition from a career in accounting to a career in real estate. After some discussion, I discovered that she was president of her condo association so we decided to put that at the top under her “Experience” section. We also decided to highlight the fact that she was currently taking a real estate course, something she hadn’t thought to include on her resume.

If you’re unsure about what to include on your resume, it would be a great idea to meet with a career coach who can help you create a resume that is as unique as you are and presents you as a highly qualified candidate.

About Me

Motivational and enthusiastic career coach who is dedicated to helping my students and clients achieve their career and life goals. Passionate about life and all things spiritual. Eternal optimist who believes you can do anything if you put your mind to it.